


Jason's Promise

by Phelpsgirlxxx



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Follows Canon (kind of), Food Issues, Hurt Nico, M/M, Nightmares, Shadow Travel, Sick Nico, Sickness, Sleep, sleep issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:48:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27769291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phelpsgirlxxx/pseuds/Phelpsgirlxxx
Summary: What if someone on the Argo II actually cared (more) about the fact that Nico clearly needed some help?
Relationships: Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase
Comments: 7
Kudos: 194





	Jason's Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this really quickly, so it's probably not good.

Hazel watched her brother as he sat, eyes focused on the horizon, on the mast of the Argo II. He had been up there for days, at least in as far as anyone on the ship had seen. Even Leo, Frank and Jason who took the night watches hadn’t seen him move, even though they had been on the deck and were watching the horizon too.

“Should I charmspeak him to come down?” 

Hazel snapped out of her thoughts as Piper came and sat down opposite her on one of the benches on the deck.

“No, I don’t think it would make a difference. I don’t think he’d be down for long.” She said after a few moments.

Piper nodded, but her face looked grim.

“Has he slept?” Piper enquired after a few minutes of silence where both girls were trapped in their own thoughts.

Piper wasn’t sure how to feel about the boy sitting on the mast. When he had first been released from the jar he had been kept prisoner in, she was sure he was dead. He had been so skinny, so pale, so...still. He didn’t look any healthier now though. 

“Not that I know of. Frank and the others don’t think he has, at least not that remember.”

They had offered the boy Percy’s room, but he had adamantly denied it. He had been so positively against it, that none of them had really fought him, they had just accepted it. Piper was beginning to wonder if they should have forced him.

“It’s getting late Hazel.” Piper said after a few moments of staring over the edge of the ship, looking at the clouds below them.

“Yes, I should retire for the night.”

“Jason’s on the first watch tonight. I’ll stay out for a bit longer, I need to talk to him.”

“Goodnight Piper.”

“Goodnight Hazel.”

Piper sat in silence, the sky, thankfully peaceful. The stars glistened above her, and she took barely a moment before deciding to lay on the deck. Nico would be able to warn them if anything was coming.

Despite it seeming as if the boy was constantly trapped in his own thoughts, he still kept lookout… he was still good at warning the teenage demigods onboard that danger was coming, and he was willing to fight.

“Pipes?”

“Hey Jason.”

“What are you doing?”

“Looking at the stars.”

He stared down at her for a moment before she sighed and settled back down on the bench she had previously vacated. Jason took the one Hazel had been sitting on.

“Do you think he’s okay?” She whispered, although she wasn’t entirely sure whether Nico could hear her anyway.

Jason glanced up.

In a way, it seemed as if Nico was collapsed against the mast, but he was clearly still awake. It would be worrying if he wasn’t. 

“I… I don’t know, but I don’t know how to help either.”

“He creeps me out a little.” She admitted.

“Yeah. He’s… he’s intense.”

The two fell silent, and twenty minutes later, Piper excused herself, heading to bed.

PJOHOOTOA. 

By the time Nico finally came down from the mast to discuss strategy with the rest of the demigods aboard the Argo II, he looked terrible.

His long hair was sticking up at every angle, the bags under his eyes were a deep rich purple, his dirty clothes were hanging off his thin frame, his eyes seemed broken, and he seemed even thinner.

Jason watched carefully as the small boy plucked a grape from a bunch on the table, popping it into his mouth and chewing slowly. He swallowed, but made no move to get another. Jason’s heart ached slightly.

“We need to go to the Diocletian Palace.”

It didn’t take long for the rest of the demigods to agree, and despite his discomfort, Jason agreed to go with Nico.

The trip was both a success and a failure.

They had received the Diocletian Scepter, but the emotional turmoil Nico had gone through to get it might not have been worth it. As the two left together via shadow travel, and arrived back to the ship, he immediately made his way back to the top of the mast, his body more slumped than even before, his body radiating exhaustion, emotional, mental and physical.

“Did you get it?”

“Yeah.”

“And Nico?”

Jason looked up, and he noticed how the boy above looked more alert. Nico could hear them from up there, and none of them had noticed. He had heard their words, their snide remarks. He knew what most of them had thought about him.

Jason’s guilt was immeasurable. 

Now he knew part of the reason for the boy’s pain, more than just the obvious, he knew why the boy was distant. He knew about his inability to accept even himself. He knew why the boy was so desperate to help Percy Jackson, but also seemed to hate the older teen.

“Nothing happened.” Jason said forcefully, not taking his eyes off Nico.

The younger teen slumped against the mass once more.

PJOHOOTOA.

“Cupcake!” Hedge shouted up to the boy.

It had been Jason who had finally spoken to the Coach. Someone needed to force Nico to eat, and all the teenagers were slightly scared to, apart from Hazel, but even then she would get upset at seeing her brother as he was, and none of them wanted to upset the girl.

Nico looked down at the angry satyr.

“Down here now!”

The boy shuddered slightly, but appeared after a moment in a shadow on the deck of the ship. He stumbled slightly, but managed to catch himself, which Jason was thankful for, remembering how adamant the boy was to avoid touch.

“Yes?”

“Eat.” Hedge said pointing to the food on the table, leftovers from breakfast.

“I-I can’t.”

The boy looked desperate, pleading.

Hedge didn’t budge.

“You’re going to eat, you’ll take a shower and then you’ll sleep. This is non negotiable.”

“Please-please I-”

“No excuses. Eat, and then you can shower and sleep in Jackson’s room.”

Nico looked desperately at Jason.

“You can sleep in my room, I’ll probably have some spare pyjamas you can use too.” Jason told him.

Hedge tried to force the boy into a seat, and the boy flinched away violently, eyes slightly crazed. The coach looked at Jason carefully, trying to read something the boy wasn’t offering, before turning back to Nico.

“Sit. Eat.”

The boy, knowing he wasn’t going to win this battle, did. He took a plain slice of toast, nibbling on it gently, looking extremely uncomfortable, and slightly ill as Hedge watched him with careful eyes. 

He had barely eaten a quarter of the slice when he looked up, asking permission.

“You need to finish the entire slice at least.”

“Please.” He begged.

Coach Hedge stood firm.

Leo, Hazel and Piper entered onto the deck, and stared, surprised at the scene in front of them. Jason knew their watching eyes wouldn’t help, but they didn’t stop, even when he shot them the angriest glare he could muster.

He ate another bite, coughing harshly as he did.

He turned to Coach Hedge again.

“Eat!”

Nico unwillingly took another bite and tried to swallow, before he pushed himself quickly from his seat trying to make it to the edge of the boat, but he was too slow. He collapsed on his knees, retching, the dried chewed toast coming out drenched in saliva and bile.

“Nico!” Hazel cried, running to her brother, collapsing on her knees beside the shaking boy as he continued to retch, despite the fact that everything he had eaten had already reappeared on the deck of the ship.

“I’m sorry.” He muttered to Hazel.

She ran a hand up and down his back, trying to provide him some comfort. Unlike with everyone else, he didn’t flinch away, but the way his body tensed suggested it wasn’t entirely comfortable for him either.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You’re okay.” She muttered.

“I’ll clean it. I just- I need, I need a cloth.”

“Hey dude, I’ll deal with it, it’s okay.” Leo reassured. 

Nico didn’t say anything, but he pitched forward slightly as his body gave out slightly, but luckily he was caught by Hazel before he fell face first into his own vomit.

Jason quickly moved over to the children of Pluto, or Hades.

“Hey Nico, it’s okay. Do you want to shower and try and get some rest?” Jason asked.

He shrugged, but Hazel seemed to latch onto the idea.

“That might be a good idea Nico.” She said guiding him up slightly.

“Okay.” He finally said as he stood, the fight gone from him. He shrugged Hazel off, shooting her a reassuring look, or as best as he could considering how rough and broken he looked.

“Sorry kid.” Coach Hedge apologised as the shaking boy passed him.

“It’s okay.” He muttered, as he followed Jason down to his room.

Jason was quite glad his room was tidy as he showed him the showers and the room he’d be staying in. He quickly grabbed a spare pair of pyjamas and handed them to the extremely skinny boy. 

“Go shower, the room will be ready once you get back.”

“Thank you.” 

Jason smiled at the boy, hearing the genuine gratitude in his voice, despite the fact he was kind of being forced to sleep and shower.

“You’re welcome.”

PJOHOOTOA.

It was barely an hour and a half later when the demigods, now including Frank, and Coach Hedge sat on the deck, when a horrific, terrified screaming echoed from below the deck.

“Nico.” Hazel whispered, before sprinting down towards Jason’s bunk.

The rest of the group followed immediately, and in barely any time at all, they flung open the door to Jason’s bunk.

The now fairly silent Nico was huddled in the corner of the room, knees to his chest, face on his knees and hands pulling wildly at his still wet hair.

Hazel took one look at her brother, before turning to the rest of them.

“Out.” She commanded.

“But-” Leo began.

“Out now!”

With that, the group fled, shutting the door behind them.

PJOHOOTOA.

Thirty minutes later, Hazel returned to the deck with a silent Nico who quickly made his way back to the mast, where he slumped against it, and watched the horizon once more.

Leo opened his mouth to comment, but Hazel just shook her head, giving him a clear warning.

Hedge slumped, looking up at the boy, clearly worried, but knowing there was nothing he could do. He wasn’t a healer, not properly, and it wasn’t so much a physical injury hurting the son of Hades, the emotional, psychological scars were destroying him.

Jason sighed, promising himself, that when everything was over, he’d make sure Nico got checked out, even if the boy himself wasn’t willing.

PJOHOOTOA.

The next few weeks were hectic, with closing the doors of death, Nico leaving with Hedge and Reyna to deliver the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half Blood though shadow travel, and the battle with Gaea, amongst everything else.

Finally, when the battle was done, and a few days passed, Jason remembered his promise.

He quickly told Piper he had to do something, and slipped off towards the infirmary.

“Jason? Are you hurt?” Will Solace asked as he slipped through the door.

“Er… no, but I need to talk to you about something.”

Will, clearly sensing the importance of whatever Jason was going to say, led him off to the side, out of earshot of Kayla and Austin, some of the other children of Apollo.

“How can I help you Jason?”

“So, you know Nico right? Nico di Angelo?”

“Yeah, is he okay? I was kind of hoping he would come by the infirmary and see me. I haven’t managed to check in on him yet either, but I’m fairly sure he needs some medical attention.” As Will said the first part of his sentence, he blushed violently, and Jason had to suppress a smirk.

“Yes, about that.”

Will listened attentively as Jason explained some of the issues the group had when trying to make sure Nico ate and slept on the Argo 2 and how they hadn’t been successful. Reyna had mentioned that sometimes on their trip back, Nico had an appetite, but it seemed to come and go quickly, and he hadn’t slept naturally, but just passed out from shadowing travelling every time, and he added that to, trying to give Will a full overview of what was happening.

“Right, I definitely need to drag him in.” Will said, immediately moving towards the door.

“Wait! Will?”

He turned.

“Yeah?”

“He’ll be angry if he thinks I told you, and I need to discuss something with him first.”

Will frowned.

“Fine, ten minutes, and I won’t tell him. I was going to have to see him anyway, and it would have likely been today now the infirmary is quietening down.”

“Thanks Will!” Jason cried, as he rushed past the son of Apollo, and headed towards the Hades cabin.

PJOHOOTOA.

Jason was quick to talk to the son of Hades, who informed him he was planning on staying at the camp. Jason wasn’t sure if he would have been able to put into words how relieved he was about that fact.

However, Nico broke the conversation after a few minutes as he made eye contact with someone towards the Apollo cabin.

Jason tried to hide his smirk, knowing his time was up.

He watched with a slight grin as the two younger teenagers spoke, and with keen eyes, the son of Jupiter, was quick to see the blush on Nico’s cheeks when he spoke with Will Solace.

He watched as the boy spoke to Annabeth and Percy, and by Percy’s shocked face, Annabeth’s grin, and the high five the fourteen year old shared with the daughter of Athena, Jason knew exactly what had been said.

It was barely a moment later that Nico and Will walked off together, and as Annabeth and Percy headed towards the Poseidon cabin, and as they walked, Jason managed to catch the words Percy was muttering to his girlfriend as they passed.

“Not his type? I’m not his type? What-?”

“Leave it Seaweed brain.” Annabeth said, as they walked out of earshot.

Jason couldn’t help it, he grinned.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and review if you liked it, it really makes my day!


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